Solid Sun
Solid Sun refers to the 2014 incident in South America, during which Liquid Ocelot continued preparations for his armed insurrection against the Patriots. Solid Snake and Hal Emmerich also initiated a rescue mission for geneticist Dr. Naomi Hunter, who had been assisting Liquid in his efforts to hack into the Sons of the Patriots System. Briefing Having recovered from his ordeal in the Middle East, Snake awoke back on board the Nomad. There, Otacon informed him of a video message that they had received from Naomi from Otacon's old address, whom Snake recalled seeing at Liquid Ocelot's camp (and of whom traces of her DNA were found on the syringe she dropped to Snake). The message was a plea to be rescued, explaining about the SOP system, its use of third generation nanomachines and her indirect role in creating it from her development of the first generation nanomachines, and that Liquid Ocelot had forced her to cooperate because she was the creator of FOXDIE, and that the SOP system is derived from FOXDIE. The mail address included an encrypted map of Liquid's PMC base in South America, where Naomi was being held, although Sunny and Otacon had to retrace the origin due to the direct address being faked. A message from Roy Campbell confirmed that Liquid's forces were operating in the area, as one of Liquid's PMCs, Pieuvre Armement, was acting as the de-facto group running the country after the regime that hired them ended up in shambles. In addition, Campbell referenced Naomi's arrest after the Shadow Moses Incident and her escape, and speculated that Liquid Ocelot was the one responsible and not Solid Snake. Campbell also explained that Meryl Silverburgh had left the Middle East to continue tracking down Liquid herself, and that ARSOC was likely aware of Snake and Otacon's activities and Campbell's involvement. Therefore, Naomi was the only lead left to them. Campbell had therefore obtained clearance for the Nomad to land in the El Dorado International Airport in Colombia, with Snake also being given the cover job as a UN inspector. In addition, he arranged for Snake to acquire a 4x4 vehicle as soon as he landed, so that he could get as close as he could to Pieuvre Armement's security perimeter, after which he would commence a solo sneaking mission. Because the battle between Pieuvre Armement and the rebels was still upscaling, Campbell believed this would make sneaking into Liquid's facility much easier fro Snake. Sunny was able to trace where Naomi's message originated, and they began the journey to South America. "Battle at Highland" After making it to the security perimeter in the 4x4, Snake traversed through the jungle, making use of his OctoCamo. He also contacted Roy Campbell while sneaking through the jungle, inquiring about the actual identities of the Patriots founders, citing that the data they got from Arsenal Gear was bogus due to them supposedly being dead in over a hundred years. Since the SOP System fit in with the Patriots' plans of global information control, Snake and Campbell concluded that Liquid's insurrection was aimed at destroying it. Snake felt that it doesn't matter whether it is Liquid or the Patriots who win, as the world will lose anyways, and feels the system is better off destroyed. However, Campbell reminded Snake that the System is the only thing that is allowing for relative peace to occur. Because of this, Snake and Campbell deduced that the System must be protracted in order to maintain the information society, and modern civilization, which meant that Liquid's ambitions had to be thwarted. Reaching the vicinity of Liquid's South American base, Snake witnessed chaos erupt in a clearing below his position. As captured rebel soldiers were being led away by Pieuvre Armement forces, Laughing Octopus suddenly emerged from the shadows and proceeded to slaughter them, her facial appearance resembling that of Snake himself. Leaving one rebel alive, she warned him to remember her face as the one who killed his comrades and let him escape. Vamp, to Snake and Otacon's surprise, was also present, and both departed the area by Stryker after failing to find Snake. Snake then advanced onward, with Otacon admitting to him that his OctoCamo was based on designs from DARPA that Sunny had found on the Internet, and that Laughing Octopus must also be using it. Snake also considered that he might have retired a bit too soon when learning about the rumor of how Mei Ling ended up promoted to captain of the [[USS Missouri|USS Missouri]], although he stated that he has nothing left to learn. After Snake made it into the heart of a battlefield, in which PMC and rebel forces were fighting, he received a Codec call from Campbell. He introduced Snake to a former member of a Combat Stress Platoon, whom he recognizes as Rosemary, Raiden's ex-fiancé and data analyst during the Big Shell Incident. He quickly deduced that Rose was Campbell's new wife, which explained why Meryl Silverburgh had showed such hostility towards her father. Upon advancing further, Snake received another Codec call, this time from Raiden himself, claiming that he was very close by. He also explained that he had recently been sent on a mission for Big Mama to retrieve the body of Big Boss, although he was forced to end the call due to a firefight on Raiden's end. Snake then called Rose and learned that after the Big Shell Incident, Rosemary and Raiden got together, but his memories were starting to resurface, causing him to stay out late, become drunk, and get into fights, before eventually leaving, which also explained why Rosemary ended up marrying Campbell. Snake then found Drebin yet again, who explained to him about the Beauty and the Beast Unit, and revealed to Snake that the Patriots were really just a system of AIs, and that the term "La-Li-Lu-Le-Lo" was used by nanomachines to censor people from using their names. During this time, Drebin's pet monkey, Little Gray, also snatched a cigarette from Snake, and as Snake was leaving attempted to beckon for him to give him another cigarette, apparently becoming addicted to cigarettes, although Drebin refused to let Little Gray have another. "Vista Mansion" Upon infiltrating the Vista Mansion as it was under siege by the rebel forces, Snake found Naomi in a secluded research building, behind the Vista Mansion, via an underground passage. Naomi, upon seeing Snake, explained that there were no guards present, since they knew she was powerless. However, before they were to leave, Naomi insisted she give Snake a full medical examination. Following the tests, she identified the cause of Snake's accelerated aging, revealing that it was incurable; it was simply the way he was designed as a clone. Naomi also discovered that the FOXDIE virus, which she had injected into Snake almost a decade ago, had since mutated. Since there were no more targets for it to attack, it had been circulating within his body since. The receptors on the virus had eventually broken down, and it would only be a matter of months before FOXDIE became a threat to other people. Naomi estimated that Snake had only half a year left to live as well, and he only had three months before the FOXDIE began to target other people indiscriminately. Snake then asked what would happen should he take his own life before that time, to which she replied that FOXDIE would die with him. She had also discovered a new strain of FOXDIE in Snake that had recently been injected into him, with Snake immediately suspecting that Drebin 893 was responsible. In addition, Naomi explained to Snake what had actually happened in the Middle East. With Liquid attempting to disable the SOP System inside his PMC soldiers, the sudden freedom had proved too much for their minds to handle, and they had been driven mad by their previously suppressed emotions. Liquid had originally intended to remove the System completely, but the results of the Middle East test forced him to change his plans. He was now attempting to gain control over the System and overthrow the Patriots, but he would need Big Boss' DNA in order to do it. "Laughing Octopus" Suddenly, she began to experience a lot of pain, before Pieuvre Armament PMC troops burst into the building and grabbed her, telling her that she was no longer safe there. Before Snake could go after her, he was ambushed by a team of FROGS, commanded by Laughing Octopus, whom he was forced to defeat. Afterwards, Drebin called Snake upon procuring Octopus's FaceCamo, with Snake accusing him of setting him up and placing FOXDIE in his body. Although Drebin admitted that he was spying on him, he denied actually giving him the virus. He then briefly explained Laughing Octopus's history, shedding some light on her post-traumatic stress disorder, which had forced her to become a "beast of war." "Breakthrough" With the help of some scouting tips from Raiden, Snake tracked Naomi to a helipad where she was being loaded onto a helicopter under Vamp's supervision. Snake then shot Vamp in the head, with the Pieuvre Armament soldiers on the ground returning fire. Meanwhile, the soldiers aboard the helicopter took injections to lessen the effects of the lockdown on the SOP System, which was due to commence, as part of Liquid's second attempt to gain access. Shortly thereafter, the soldiers on the ground began to suffer from the same seizures that had afflicted the PMCs in the Middle East. Just as Naomi appeared lost, Drebin managed to rescue her and Snake in his Stryker. With Drebin at the wheel and Snake manning the gun turret on top, the group escaped. "White Blood" Drebin's Stryker made it to a small village where civilians were running for cover from attacking Gekko. The Stryker eventually was forced to crash. Unable to proceed, they were ambushed by several of them. However, Raiden, revealing himself to be a Cyborg Ninja, appeared and engaged the Gekko in combat, before he eventually is restrained by several Gekko upon Vamp's arrival. Vamp notes their recent meeting. When he cuts Raiden with his knife and noticing Raiden's unflinching response to the wound, Vamp questions whether Raiden is actually immortal. Raiden replies that he's not immortal, but rather, he "just doesn't fear death." before breaking out of his bonds (due to Solid Snake sniping the bonds), slaughtering the remaining Gekko, before fighting Vamp. The fight grew more intense, eventually culminating in Raiden, upon being put in a half-nelson by Vamp, stabbing himself through the abdomen to significantly wound Vamp. Vamp eventually is defeated by Raiden and collapses, although not before inquiring ecstatically if Raiden is going to be the one who will finally kill him. Snake and Naomi escaped with the Metal Gear Mk. II onto Otacon's helicopter, picking up a heavily injured Raiden as they escaped. Meanwhile, Vamp revives himself from his wounds in his fight against Raiden, and calls Liquid Ocelot, asking if it was a good idea to let Naomi escape, with Ocelot responding that it is part of the plan. As Solid Snake's DNA failed to have him hack into the system due to it not being "pure enough," and the Pieuvre Armement forces are suffering from brain damage as a result of the lockdown, leaving nothing salvageable, they decide they need "all of him" and that they need to locate "them." Naomi, after Snake and Otacon witnessed Vamp's revival, admits that the secret to Vamp's immortality was a nanomachine base that allowed Vamp to regenerate at a faster rate than usual, a nanomachine base that she developed herself, but someone else perfected. Raiden was able to deliver an instruction to Snake before passing out entirely: "Go meet -- Big Mama." Aftermath Acting on Raiden's advice, Solid Snake went to Eastern Europe and met up with Big Mama, formerly known as EVA from Operation Snake Eater, although he was ultimately unable to stop Liquid Ocelot from using Big Boss's body from accessing the SOP system. In addition, as Vamp implied in his report to Liquid Ocelot, Naomi's escape had been engineered by Liquid and her eventually defecting back to Liquid's group in the same mission, the specific reason being revealed on the fight of Outer Haven when the Patriots AI network was disabled by FOXALIVE. Vamp and Naomi would later end up killed on Shadow Moses Island before this event, by a combination of Raiden and his nanomachines being disabled and by suicide by terminating her own nanomachines and letting her cancer kill her, respectively. Raiden's fight against the Gekko would later be told by various people and grew widespread over time, making Raiden somewhat of a legend. These stories would eventually reach Boris's ears by the time of the Abkhazia Coup in May 2018, to Raiden's embarrassment. Behind the scenes In Cove Valley Village, the player can choose to save the five captured South American rebels from execution. If the player succeeds in doing this, the rebels will give Snake some unlocked weapons and a rebel disguise. Also, the PMC soldiers executing the soldiers can have different tones depending on their emotional state: they start out with rage as their innate emotion and will talk with an authoritative tone to the prisoners. If Snake hits them with a fear ammo, but not in their head to fully unleash the emotions, the PMC will have a slight fear in their tone. When the player is tasked with finding Naomi, a secret area can be found, which contains a patch of flattened grass in the form of a small crop circle. The area is located to the left when the player spots the river. When the player finds it, an audio clip from Metal Gear Solid 2 will play, in which the Colonel mentions seeing an orange object in sky while driving home one night, similar to a typical UFO story. However, it was Raiden who had received that particular Codec call, rather than Snake. In an Integral Podcast, the designers explained that they originally intended for the scouting Naomi mission to have a trail of female clothing to keep Snake off the wrong trail, and eventually find an unconscious naked female soldier. However, the latter was removed from the final version, presumably for the same reason as why the Beauty and the Beast Unit being naked in their beauty forms was removed in the final version. In the cutscene where Snake meets with Drebin, when they are talking about the Patriots, Drebin nearly says "La Li Lu Le Lo" before stopping himself and then stating their actual name. This briefly foreshadows his connection to the Patriots, which was revealed in the Epilogue: Naked Sin. In the Act 3 Briefing, alongside that of the briefings for Acts 1, 2 and 4, if the player uses the Metal Gear Mk. II (and in the case of Act 4, Mk. III) to interact with the area up in the kitchen area of the ship, they can interact with Sunny's clipboard. The clipboard, depicting the egg schedule for the Nomad's chickens, showed that the month of March had less eggs than January or February, yet April did not have any tallies on egg productions. Whether that was meant to imply that the events of the missions occurred in March is not made clear. In addition, when Liquid Ocelot is shown in the monitor in Act 1, the date for the last login is instead shown to be Friday, July 4. Notes and references See also *Timeline *''Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots'' Category:Events Category:Metal Gear Solid 4 Category:Canon events